Saturday, November 18, 2006

Thank you everyone for such wonderful comments on the bunny baby set. For those who actually thought I had my own baby news to share, hold that thought until I get hitched! :D Now that I've read the title, I do have to agree it was misleading. Sorry for that! For those who wanted to know where the pattern came from, the Bunny hat was from Baby Center. The socks pattern came from IK Summer Knits 2005. For those who want to do this pattern, I think the pattern has to be modified a bit. The bunny ears made the hat top heavy and as a result couldn't stay on her head. So I'm gonna modify it so it fits better. There is something about baby and toddler knits that gets to you. I’m already planning for my 2 nieces in mind.

But one thing at a time. I did promise to put my FOs, WIPs and ribbits in order first. Among other things, I’ve also started a clean up on my Bloglines, some links are broken and I still can’t figure why my list doesn’t show up in my blog. I also notice that after a long break, my writting skills have pretty much detoriated to the point of being jerky. Bear with me ok? I promise to improve. :)

Macrame Belt

I recently got hold of Sweaterbabe's Fabulous & Flirty Crochet and couldn't resist trying out something immediately. This book is definitely a good buy. There's so many great patterns in it. You can even purchase the individual patterns at her website.Pattern :- Macrame Belt from Sweaterbabe Fabulous & FlirtyYarn :- Half a ball of Organic Cotton YarnColorway :- BuffaloTime :- 3 days

This was a quick crochet. The pattern calls for Bullion stitches for that macrame look. Pretty fun to master.

This one is again a very fast knit. One thing I didn't anticipate was how stretchy the yarn was. Candy is actually 64% cotton 32% acrylic 3% nylon 1% elastic. It drapes well but is really really stretchy. I strung the ribbons through the holes so it covers the front. I think this might be a knit best worn with something underneath it without a ribbon. Still a versatile piece.

Friday, November 03, 2006

After my post about my self imposed abstinence, I felt reasonably revived to do a spring clean of my little craft corner. I had 2 bags cramped full of swatches, unraveled yarns, WIPs, bag handles and other knick knacks, some of which I couldn't remember how it got there. I ran through my list of WIPs and waitlist, categorizing them accordingly and was revving up my engine when I got intercepted. Quite pleasantly I might say.

Introducing couple T. Couple T is actually my other half's brother and wife. They have never showed any interest in craft let alone knitting except to occasionally make sure the cat doesn't get to my yarns left precariously out in the open when I visit. To cut the long story short, they were expecting a stork to drop them a happy bundle then. Their daughter was born 3 days ago.

So when my bf casually told me they requested for a baby hat one fine day, I was caught by surprise. Seriously, this couple has never ever shown any bit of interest in anything other then good food. Now, I already had the intention to knit up something for the baby although given their disinterest in craft, I was very prepared that they might not appreciate something hand knit. So yes, I was very pleasantly surprised because I know they were a very sweet down to earth couple and the fact that they asked indicated that they'd appreciate it. I was already excited thinking of the possibilities of different designs for a baby hat.

So the next I saw them, I asked what sort of baby hat they would like. His brother promptly said "A bunny hat!" with a big grin on his face. I could only stare at him, then I couldn’t help but smile back at them. Really they are such a cute couple. Hey, it's their first child and they were so excited, I'm not about to say no to a bunny hat. It's a pretty cute idea actually. Then their mother chipped in and said "Oh! And a pair of socks for the baby too please." Hmmmm... socks.

But socks! Oh my... socks! If you haven't notice, I'm not a socks person. In our weather here, you tend to wear clogs and sandals more then you wrap them up with warm woolies. In truth, I'm terrified of handling 4 double point needles at one go. The last try ended in disaster. Somehow my fingers and the needles kept getting in each others way. So I was pretty worried about socks.

So my piles of WIPs and ribbits got shoved aside. I had a deadline here. I found the cutest bunny hat pattern ever. As for the socks, I found the baby socks pattern in IK Summer 2005 I had always kept in my mind. And what yarn would be perfect for babies around the equator? Organic cotton yarn of course! I used the Oatmeal which was a nice pinkish cream brown color. See how everything clicks together?

The bunny hat went quite fast. My only concern was the fit. So I made it a bit bigger with a ribbon to go around so they can adjust the size. As for the socks, gosh! The first one took me 3 days of trial and error. First I made it too small, then I made it too long, then I messed up the short row heel, the sock became too bent and etc. I was so relieved when I finished it to my satisfaction. It's mate took me another 1 day on and off. I have to say it was a very cute introduction to socks knitting.

And since the theme was bunny ears, what else but cheerful carrot orange ribbons all around? They are now proud parents of a baby daughter and the hat and socks set shall be delivered within a day or two.